School was closed for Rosh Hashanah in late September, so I decided it was the perfect day for an adventure with my three girls. Pebble had loved looking for treasure at Fort Smallwood in the spring, and plays often with her collection of sea glass and pebbles. Her sisters were slightly jealous of her sea glass, and wanted to find their own, so I suggested Fort Smallwood for our adventure. We could play on the playground, and, since the seawall repair on the eastern edge of the park was complete, the main beach was back open again so the girls could hunt for treasure. I packed a picnic lunch, plus plenty of beach toys, towels, and a beach blanket. Somehow I forgot the baby powder, a mistake I won’t make again!
Fort Smallwood is another county park, but I have the annual pass, so we were waved in by the woman in the entrance booth. I parked near the playground, and set the kids loose. Stormy remembered the place slightly, but Rainbow not at all, she was too young last time we were here. Surprisingly, Pebble did not head for the swings first, but rather the obstacle course at the opposite side of the playground. She loves jumping from piece to piece, walking the wobbly bench, and finishing by crossing the swaying pebble bridge. Rainbow was hot on her heels, and the two girls went in circles for a bit before their friends arrived, and then they really started running amuck! So much to climb, including giant fake boulders, and the ramp system of the playset made it super fun to run up and down!
As much fun as the obstacle course, slides, swings, and monkey bars were, the girls wanted to see the beach. My friend and I loaded our kids into the cars, and drove over to the lot closest to the beach. We left everything in the car, and walked a loop around the historic gun battery, Battery Hartshorne. The original Fort Smallwood was a sea coast defense built in the late 1880’s to the early part of the 1900’s. The fort was then in use from 1890 until 1927. Stormy was excited about seeing the battery, but then we discovered there was nothing to see except a big white block of cement. All the windows and doors were sealed up, and there is no sign with historical information anywhere that we saw. It is a missed opportunity for the park…
Returning to the car, we loaded ourselves down with beach gear, and headed out onto the sand. Last time we were here, it was your traditional curved beach, but the seawall repair had included this area as well. Like Mayo Beach Park, the beach is now scalloped, and there are multiple sheltered areas of shallow water for wading and swimming. New to the scene was a series of breakwaters out in the water that help reduce coastline erosion, and they are what created the beach’s new appearance. We could easily walk out to the breakwaters, but there were signs asking people to remain off the rocks.
The kids didn’t care how the beach looked, they were there for sand and water! We set up near the second pool of water, and the kids went off exploring. My friend and I discovered that the jellies were still hanging around, so we didn’t let the kids swim, just wade and keep an eye out for the little floating blobs. All five girls headed out on the shallow spit of sand between two of the pools to check out the breakwater. They used their tools to dig in the muck, pick up dead jellyfish, and have an amazing time. We found a Minecraft LEGO figure buried in the mud near one of the breakwaters, and Stormy actually discovered a pair of sunglasses when she was wading. The girls made sandcastles, and decorated the top with one of the dead crabs they’d found. Lunch was offered, but mostly rejected as the kids were having too much fun.
By the time my friend and I started trying to roust the kids to head home, they were mucky, sandy, wet messes! Pebble, especially, as her white rash guard was now coated in a layer of grit. I tried to get her to rinse off in the water, but all that happened was she stripped down to her birthday suit and started splashing anyone in the vicinity. She might have been a little tired… We brought a few pebbles home, but there was no sea glass or shells on the beach that day. Maybe we just hit a bonanza on that little beach we visited back in March here at Fort Smallwood.
As I attempted to get my kids into the car, lamenting the forgotten baby powder which is a miracle worker in regard to sand, they were all chattering and giggling. They had an amazing time, and were so glad their friends could join them. We will definitely be back again… Happy trails!
